My Everything
by MusicalSamurai
Summary: Rosewood. It was a small quiet community, like you would see on TV; kids running around the neighborhood, teenage girls meeting for coffee at the local café, parents working in big companies and law firms, even the occasional housewife gossiping with her friends on the front porch. It was all a little too quiet. But I couldn't worry about that right now. My target was Emily Fields.
1. High School Never Ends

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars or the characters. **

_BANG BANG BANG_

Are you serious?

_BANG BANG BANG_

No, I'm not getting up.

_BANG BANG BANG_

They can't do this. They can't interrupt the three hours of sleep I get a night.

"Spencer, I know you're in there. Get up."

"Why?" I called out, hoping she could hear me through the door.

"We're going to high school."

I abruptly sat up. What?

"What?"

"Come open the damn door." She said, sounding annoyed, like always.

I stood, grabbing my robe off of the chair and wrapping it around me. The room was chilly in the early morning hours. I looked at the clock on the table. 3:30. Great. Looks like I'm only getting an hour and a half of sleep tonight. I approached the door, violently yanking it open to show my dislike of being woken up.

"What the hell are you talking about Mona?" I asked, leaning against the door frame.

"Just what I said: we're going to high school." She pushed past me into my apartment.

I sighed, closing the door and following her into the kitchen. She was already sitting at the table, a folder with the word CLASSIFIED in big red letters stamped across it. I was not ready for this, I just got home from two months in England, and I was not ready to be sent out again. I turned away from her, turning on the coffee machine.

"You can't get out of this one Spencer. Neither can I."

"Why?" I asked, turning back towards her, propping myself up against the counter. "Why can't we get out of it? Why us?"

"We're the two youngest in the agency. I guess this is the price of being geniuses." She slid the folder across the table towards me.

I sighed again; it's kind of my thing. Pushing myself off of the counter, I opened the folder, spreading the files across the table.

"So what is it?" I asked, scanning the papers and pictures.

"A month ago, a small team went into a village in Afghanistan led by Lieutenant Colonel Wayne Fields. Just about six men, including Fields. They were to rescue an American doctor who had been captured by a relatively new terrorist organization. But before they could extract him, they were captured and executed." She explained.

"Okay, so what does this have to do with us and high school?" I questioned.

"The leader of the organization, Kareem Nazir, posted this on the internet." She slid her cell phone towards me.

It was a video of a man wearing an American uniform being shot execution style. There was a voice over in Arabic that translated to: 'This is a message to the United States of America. We will not take this invasion lightly. You will pay. His family will pay.'

I looked back up to Mona, sliding her phone back to her. "So, who are we protecting?"

She searched through the files and handed me two.

"The only know relatives of the Lieutenant Colonel are his wife, Pamela Fields, and his 17-year-old daughter, Emily."

I looked over their records, sighing at the pictures. They looked like nice people. It sucks that they are now in danger because of how good of a man the Lt. Col was.

"So, we're heading out at 0600. Get ready and meet me at the office at 0500. We'll be briefed and shipped out." She said while gathering her files.

"Wait, how does this involve going back to high school? Last time I checked, we both graduated at the top our classes."

"Part of our job is to watch Emily super closely. Therefore, we're going to invade her circle of friends. Watch her as closely as we can. Our house will be just down the street. We'll provide 24 hour surveillance on her mom as well."

"And how can we do that if we're at school with Emily?"

"Well, you didn't just assume that we'd be two teenage girls living on our own, now did you?"

I rolled my eyes. Great, we have parents.

"So wait, are you my sister? Because I don't know if you've noticed that we are not the same race."

She chuckled. "I'm your cousin that is staying with you while my dad is deployed. That's a way to link me with Emily's situation. Anyway, we don't have a lot of time, so go get ready. I'll see you there." Mona gave me a soft smile, and closed the door behind her.

I flopped onto my bed, sighing yet again. Why did I join the CIA at 18 anyways? I could be getting drunk at a college frat party right now, completely oblivious of the state of the nation. Well, no matter my life choices, there was one thing I was sure of: I was about to relive the worst time in my life. Well, at least I'm getting paid for it this time.


	2. Something Bad

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars or the characters. **

"That's the last of it." The delivery man said, closing the door of the moving van.

"Thanks." I replied, carrying the last of the boxes into my new house.

I wasn't sure how long we'd be living here undercover. They were currently tracking the whereabouts of Nazir and his circle, so I guess until this guy was caught or dead, we'd be here in this little town in Pennsylvania.

Rosewood. It was a small, quiet community, like you would see on TV; kids running around the neighborhood, teenage girls meeting for coffee at the local café, parents working in big companies and law firms, even the occasional housewife gossiping with her friends on the front porch. It was all a little _too _quiet. But I couldn't worry about that right now. My target was Emily Fields.

'I wonder what she's going to be like. Is she preppy? I don't think I could handle that. Maybe she's a jock. That would be easier. I guess I could join a sports team to make myself seem more like a high schooler. Or maybe a club. The debate team would love someone like me. Maybe even..'

"Spencer!" I was pulled out of my thoughts.

"What?" I asked, only semi-annoyed.

"Family meeting. Now." Mona said from outside my room.

I rolled my eyes. "Be right down."

I walked down stairs to find Mona and my "parents" sitting on the couch. I sunk into the nearest chair.

"So what now?" I asked. "What's our story?"

"Well, our family just moved here from Albuquerque, I'm your mother, Veronica Hastings, and this is your father, Peter. Mona is your cousin who is staying with us while her father is over-seas."

"Wait, Hastings is my last name. Like, my real last name. Why aren't we using a cover name?" I questioned.

"Well, you two have been on many undercover missions before, so you've never used your real names. We wiped your files from the system, so it looks like you two are completely ordinary teenage girls. Plus, if anyone does find out that you are working for the CIA, then they will assume your real name is your cover name. So, you will go by Spencer Hastings and Mona Vanderwaal." Peter informed.

"Okay, well, this will be new. What else? What will you two be doing?" Mona asked our new guardians.

"Peter and I are both lawyers working for the District Attorney's office." Veronica said. It was hard to think of her as _mother_. "And you two will start at Rosewood High School as seniors tomorrow morning."

"Hooray." I replied unenthusiastically. "So how is this whole surveillance thing going to work?"

"We have set up a nerve center in the barn out back. While one of us is working, the other will be here monitoring Mrs. Fields. You two have been scheduled to have almost every class with Emily, and for those you don't have with her, you'll always be nearby. You two need to do everything you can to get into her circle of friends. Even if that means making friends with someone else to get close to her, do it. But don't seem too eager. We don't need her getting suspicious. Apparently she's a pretty bright kid, and her grades are pretty good, too. But she missed some school after her father died, so she may need help catching up. I'm sure that won't be a problem for the two of you."

I looked over at Mona who just smiled at me. I nodded, returning her smile. "Okay then. Well, I'm going to go unpack." I stood, approaching the stairs. I heard Veronica call out as I began ascending.

"Dinner will be ready at seven." I chuckled.

"Thanks, _mom_." I replied, hearing the laughter from behind me.

I was in my new bedroom, stacking books on the shelf when I heard a knock on the door behind me. I turned to see Mona standing there, hair and make-up done, wearing an outfit that made her look like a model.

"Well damn. Where are you going, the club?" I asked with a chuckle.

"No, I'm just trying out a new look. I was thinking, if we are really getting a chance to relive senior year, I'm not spending it as Loser Mona again. So, say hello to Hot Mona." She twirled around, giggling.

I smiled. "Well, this is a nice change from all the black you normally wear."

She scoffed. "You are no different Spence. You dress like a senator most of the time."

"Well, sorry I wanted to look professional for my important government job." I retorted.

"Now is the time to reinvent yourself. Be who you wanted to be in high school. Change it up. But please, don't come to school wearing a pinstriped pantsuit, because I will refer to you as Madam President."

I laughed. "You're right. But try not to have _all _the boys chasing after you."

"Oh, I promise I'll have all the boys _and_ most of the girls wanting to get underneath my skirt." She replied with a wink as she exited my room.

I shook my head. "Good luck with that," I called out after her. If I knew one thing for sure, it was that this whole high school experience was going to inflate Mona's ego even more.

There was a knock on the front door. I heard Veronica call from downstairs.

"Spencer, can you get that?"

"Sure thing, mom." I shouted back, laughing to myself.

I hopped down the stairs and opened the front door. There, to my surprise, was our target.

"Hi, I hope I'm not interrupting. My name is Emily Fields. My mom asked me to bring this over." She handed me a basket with some wine and expensive looking jams.

"Thanks. I'm Spencer Hastings. Nice to meet you." I extended my hand towards her.

She looked down at my hand questioningly, but took it anyways, shaking it firmly. I guess a hand shake isn't something teenage girls do when they first meet.

"Um, would you like to come in? I'm sure my mom wants to thank you for the basket." I asked.

She looked hesitant at first, but she just smiled, and nodded. "Sure."

I closed the door behind her, and then made my way into the kitchen.

"Hey mom, this is Emily. She brought presents." I announced, placing the basket on the island.

Veronica turned around from the stove, a big grin on her face, probably because Emily has just offered herself up on a silver platter. This makes our job a lot easier.

"Honey, go get your father and Mona." She instructed.

I left the room and walked into Peter's study. I knocked on the door, looking in as he looked up from his desk.

"Guess who's here?" He looked confused at first, but then seemed to figure out who would be here that he would be interested in.

"I'll be right out."

I shut the door and went over to the staircase, deciding to do something very teenager-like.

"Mona, get down here!" I shouted up the stairs.

She came bolting down, worried.

"What?!" She asked, looking panicked.

"We have company." I said, giving her my most innocent smile.

She scowled at me, and I just laughed, walking back into the kitchen. Spies are always so jumpy.

At this point, Peter was greeting Emily, who looked completely comfortable on the outside, but years of studying people made me notice how overwhelmed she was. I smiled to myself as I studied her. She dressed casually, but not so casually that she didn't put any effort into her outfit. She wore a pair of faded skinny jeans and a t-shirt, and matched it with some sneakers and a leather jacket. Even through the layers of clothing, I could tell that her body was toned. I glanced away from her, realizing that it probably looked like I was checking her out. 'Was I?' I didn't have time to think of an answer as a high pitched voice assaulted my ears.

"Hi, my name is Mona. It's so nice to meet someone! You know, you're the first person we've met since we got here. Anyways, it's so nice to meet you. I hope we can be great friends."

I raised an eyebrow at Veronica, who just chuckled to herself. What the hell was that? If this is the new Mona, I was going to kill her by the time this mission was over.

"Anyways," Veronica cut in, "Emily, would you like to stay for dinner?"

"I would love to, but I have to get home. I have a ton of homework." She answered.

"That's okay dear, maybe another time. Bring your mother next time. I want to thank her for the lovely welcome gift."

Emily smiled, nodding.

"Here, I'll walk you out." I cut in. Emily shot me a thankful look, saying her good-byes to everyone.

I exited the house behind Emily, zipping up my jacket as the chilly autumn air hit me.

"Let me walk you home." I offered. She just smiled and nodded.

We began our walk in silence as I took in the scenery of the neighborhood.

"So where are you from?" Emily asked, giving me an encouraging smile. I could tell she was trying to make me comfortable.

"Albuquerque. It's not cold there like it is here." Which was true.

"Well at least Rosewood won't be as hot as New Mexico in the summer." She offered.

I smirked. "True. So what do you do for entertainment around here?"

She smiled again; she did that a lot. "Well, there's the local café, The Brew, then there's the Apple Rose Grill, which is like the local diner, and there's a movie theater that plays a lot of old black and white movie. Other than that, not much. Most people go into Philly if they're looking for something to do."

"What about at school?"

"Well, there are a ton of sports teams and academic clubs. I'm on the swim team. I'm hoping to get a scholarship to Danby."

"Are you good?" I asked with a smirk.

"Well, I'm the anchor and I hold the fastest record ever recorded at Rosewood, so I think it's safe to say yes." She chuckled. "What about you? What did you do at your old school?"

I guess I'll just go with what I did when I was in high school.

"I used to play field hockey and tennis, and I was captain of the debate team."

"Oh, so you've got the brains _and _the bronze." She replied, smirking.

"I guess you could say that."

Emily suddenly came to a halt. I turned to look at her.

"This is my house. Want to come inside and meet my mom?"

"Maybe some other time. I need to get home and finish unpacking. But I'll see you tomorrow." I replied.

There was a flicker of disappointment in her eyes, but she quickly offered me a smile.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe we'll have some classes together."

I laughed on the inside. "Yeah, maybe." I smiled back at her.

"Okay, well…bye." She waved awkwardly, entering the house and closing the door behind her.

I chuckled to myself. 'She's adorable. Why would anyone want to hurt her?' I quickly shook the thought from my head. 'No, I can't get emotionally attached. This is a mission. And as soon as this guy is caught, I am out of here and back to Washington.' But still, I had this nagging feeling that this was going to be a more difficult mission that we anticipated. I could feel the trouble brewing, and we had been here less than 24 hours.

As I walked the two blocks back to my temporary house, I scanned the surrounding area, looking for points of entry that would need to be monitored more heavily. And I thought.

I thought about the mission.

I thought about the video of the Lt. Col. being executed.

I thought about the men making threats against his family.

But most of all, I thought about Emily's warm smile, and the way it made me feel.

Oh no.


	3. We're All Friends Here

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars or the characters. **

"I can't believe this," I stated, rolling my eyes.

"Oh, come on Spence, we weren't even late. Why did you want to leave so early, anyways? School doesn't start for another thirty minutes." Mona complained, struggling to keep up with me in the heels she decided to wear.

"So that we could get a good look around before everyone showed up. Have you forgotten the reason that we're here?" I asked, annoyed.

"Oh please, you act like we have a week to get everything done. Relax, Spencer. We're going to be here for a while. Just try to get adjusted. We can do recon later. You're always so tense. When was the last time you got laid?"

I scoffed. "Okay, we are not having this conversation here. My love life does not need you interfering in it. Now, let's just get done what we need to get done before too many people show up. I want to scope out Emily and her friends. We need to find an opportunity to get close to her."

"Okay, okay. Spy mode activated. Where is her locker?"

"Over there," I pointed to a locker in the middle of the hallway. "Which means mine is at the end of the hall on the opposite wall, and yours is on the other side of hers. That way we can always have eyes on her without being suspicious."

I walked over to my locker, unlocking it and placing the books I had been issued inside. By this time, students began to overflow the hallway. Oh, how I did not miss high school. Horny boys and bitchy girls were not what I wanted to deal with at 8 am.

I shut the locker and leaned against it, watching the teens rushing about. Mona returned to my side just as I notice Emily from across the hall. She was standing at her locker with two other girls: a blonde wearing clothes that equally matched Mona's model status, and a short brunette whose fashion choices were more tamed than that of the blonde, but still just as stylish. As I was observing the two, I locked eyes with Emily, who gave me another one of those warm smiles and started making her way towards us.

"Good morning Spencer," She said as she came to a halt in front of me.

I smiled at her. "Good morning to you, too."

She stood there for a second, forgetting that we had company until the brunette beside her cleared her throat.

"Oh, uh, sorry. These are my friends. This is Hanna," She said, gesturing to the blonde," And this is Aria." She gestured towards the brunette.

They both said their hellos, offering up smiles that weren't as warm as Emily's. I opened my mouth to introduce myself, but was cut off.

"Hi, I'm Mona, and this is Spencer. It's nice to meet you." Mona said, cheerfully. "And that skirt," She said, pointing to Aria's skirt," Is so cute. I have the perfect pair of heels to go with it."

"Oh, a fashionista. My kind of girl." Hanna replied with a smirk.

"You have no idea." I added, smirking at Mona.

The three began an excited conversation about fashion, leaving Emily and me standing there looking overwhelmed. Oh man, I forgot what teenage girls were like.

"So, where can I get a cup of coffee around here?" Mona asked.

"Follow us." Hanna said, linking arms with Mona.

"You two coming?" Aria asked.

"We'll catch up." Emily replied. Aria shrugged, going to catch up with the other two.

"Well, glad to see she made friends quickly." I chuckled. "And here I was, worried she wouldn't fit in."

"Yeah, maybe she can take my place when those two go off on shopping sprees." Emily laughed.

"Not into shopping?" I questioned.

"No, not really. Only when there is something I need."

"Well, good. At least I'm not the odd one out."

We both laughed.

"So, what classes do you have?" She asked. I handed her my schedule.

"Wow, we have all but two classes together." She stated, studying the paper.

"Looks like the universe wants us to be friends." Or the CIA.

"Looks like it." She smiled, and I felt this warm sensation in the pit of my stomach. I returned the smile, but before I could say anything, the bell rang, signaling the start of the school day.

"Let me walk you to class?" She asked, still smiling.

"Well of course. You have to pay me back for walking you home last night. And also, I have no idea where it is." I retorted.

She laughed, grabbing my wrist and pulling me along with her.

The first few classes went by quickly. Before I knew it, it was time for lunch. Emily dragged me outside to a table where Hanna, Aria, and Mona were already sitting.

"Hey, about time you two showed up. We were just making plans for after school. They're having some major sales today, so I think it's about time I get acquainted with the Rosewood mall. Cause they will be seeing a lot of me." Mona informed, causing the entire table to laugh.

"So, what do you say, Em? Want to come?" Aria asked.

"I can't. I have a ton of homework. I'm still trying to catch up after being out for two weeks." Emily replied, staring at her hands.

I quickly shot a look at Mona. Unless Hanna and Aria already told her, we aren't supposed to know about her dad. Mona seemed to understand, and decided she was best fit to play the oblivious one.

"Why were you out? Were you sick?" This caused the other three girls to tense up. All eyes were on Emily as we watched for her reaction.

"Uh… no. um… My dad died." She stuttered, obviously still having a hard time getting the words out of her mouth.

"OMG, I am so sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Mona is such a great actress, even I almost bought that.

"No, it's fine. I just missed a lot of school and I'm still catching up."

"Actually," I cut in, "I'm playing catch up, too. Want to have a study session after school?"

"That's a great idea. Spencer is a genius." Mona added, giving me a smirk.

I rolled my eyes, "No, I'm not, but our old school was farther along that you guys, so maybe I could help."

Emily pondered the thought. "Okay, sure. Your place, or mine?"

I looked over to Mona. She nodded her head in Emily's direction.

"Uh, yours. We're still unpacking so it's kind of a mess."

"Okay, I have swim practice after school, so I'll text you after I get home."

"Actually, I'll just stay and wait. I need to talk to a few teachers and I want to check out some clubs."

"Okay," She said, smiling. "It's a date."

I smiled back, trying to ignore the way I felt when she said that.

After we finished out last class of the day, our little group split up. Emily went to swim practice, and the other three headed to the mall. This left me on my own until 5:30. I could occupy myself for that long. I went to see a few of my teachers to get extra credit work. They all seemed very friendly, and were surprised that I was asking for more work. One teacher, Mr. Fitz, gave me all the assignments for the rest of the semester, telling me that if I wanted to go ahead and complete them, I could. He was probably my favorite out of all my new teachers.

After speaking with my teachers, I decided to go around and observe the clubs. I checked out the debate team, field hockey team, and the tennis team, but they all seemed too time-consuming. If I was going to join a club, it couldn't interfere with my monitoring of Emily. I would need to consider this more thoroughly before I joined, so I decided to head back towards the pool.

The first thing I noticed when I walked in the room was Emily. Not because I am basically acting as her body guard and need to have eyes on her at all times, but because of how graceful she was in the water. It was like this was what she was meant to do. I could stare at her swim all day. It was like an art that she had mastered.

I must have been staring off into space, because I didn't notice practice was over until Emily was dressed and sitting next to me on the bleachers.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Koalas." I answered.

She gave me a looked as if she didn't expect my answer.

I laughed. "Clubs. I'm not sure if I should join one of not. I don't want something that will take up too much time after school."

She nodded in understanding. "Well, what did you think of practice?" She asked, biting her lip, almost as if she was nervous.

"Well, your performance today certainly backed up your claims from last night." I smiled at her. "You're really good."

She blushed. "Thank you. Want to get out of here?"

"And go do some homework? Sounds exciting." I replied sarcastically.

She laughed. "Well then, let's go." She stood, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind her.

We walked out to the parking lot and got into her car. There was another reason I wanted to stay after today. I pretended to be adjusting the seat, but really, I placed a small tracking device underneath it. That way, if anything did happen, we'd at least know where her car was.

The drive home was quite entertaining. Emily had the radio on and was singing her heart out to the Beyoncé song playing. It was so cute I couldn't help but laugh. It was probably the most adorable thing I had ever seen. Once we got to her house, we went straight to her room.

"Where's your mom?" I asked, looking around, trying to memorize the layout of the house.

"She's at work. She works at the Rosewood Police Department. She won't be home for another hour.

I nodded. We reached the top of the stairs, where she opened the first room on her right.

"You can put your bag down wherever." She said, setting her books on her desk.

"So what kind of homework do you have?" I asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Some math and history. Shouldn't be too hard." She said, giving me a confident look.

"Alright then, I'll be over here if you need me." I pulled out a book, laid back on the bed, and began to read.

"What about your homework? That's not the book we're reading in English."

I laughed. "I know. That whole catch up thing was a lie. I just didn't want to go shopping with them."

She shook her head. "Then why wait? Why didn't you just go home?"

"Because I get lonely." I gave her my saddest puppy dog eyes.

She rolled her eyes at me and turned back to her desk.

After about twenty-five minutes, five of those spent looking utterly frustrated, Emily finally turned to me.

"Hey Spence. How good are you in history?"

She called me Spence. My inner self was giddy about this. Even though she's not the first person to call me that, the fact that we are this close after only one day is pretty incredible. 'Focus Spencer, you are on a mission.'

"Spencer?" She was looking at me now.

"Oh, sorry. Um, yeah, I'm pretty good. What kind of history?"

"US history. It's about the Cold War."

My specialty. "Okay. Shoot."

"I just need some help remembering what the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis are."

"The Bay of Pigs was a failed attempt to overthrow Castro. The CIA funded the training of exiled Cubans and launched a surprise attack, which ultimately did not work. It let to the Cuban Missile Crisis. After the Cuban Revolution, where Castro came to power, Cuba became close to the Soviet Union, who the US was currently involved in the Cold War with. The Soviet Union started shipping nuclear missiles to Cuba which was extremely dangerous for the US. It led to thirteen days of high tension with US blockades around Cuba, until the Soviet Union finally agreed to remove the missiles if the US removed their nuclear missiles from Turkey."

After a few seconds, I looked away from my book and over to Emily, who was sitting there with her jaw on the floor.

"What?" I asked.

"Mona was right. You are a genius."

I chuckled. "No, just a nerd."

We went back to our comfortable silence while she finished her homework. Soon, she put her pencil down, stretching her arms out above her head.

"Done?" I asked.

"Yep. How's the book?"

"It's even better the third time."

She laughed at me, shaking her head.

"So," She said, standing and moving to sit on the end of the bed, "I think it's time I find out more about you." Oh boy.

"What do you want to know?" I asked, sitting up and leaning against the pillows.

"Well, what was it like at your old school? What were your friends like? Any boyfriends?"

I sighed. "My old school was pretty big, so I didn't really stand out much. And no, no boyfriends. Or girlfriends. Or any friends, really. I found everyone at that school to be intellectually inferior to me. All they cared about was sex and parties."

This must not have been the answer she was expecting. "Oh. Well, that sounds boring."

I chuckled. "Sorry to disappoint."

She looked at me sincerely. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. Well, I'm glad you're here now, at least. I promise your life won't be as boring as it was there."

I smiled. "Thanks, Em."

She blushed at me calling her that, but it looked like she had a bit of an epiphany.

"Oh, right. I meant to ask. Tell me about Mona. I haven't spent that much time with her, since Hanna and Aria have whisked her away."

"Well, she's my cousin. She has a newfound love of fashion, but don't be deceived. She's an evil genius." I said seriously.

Emily chuckled. "Why is she staying with you?"

"Her dad is overseas." Her face paled.

"Oh." This was the first time since meeting Emily that I truly didn't know what to say. So I tried to be a good friend rather than a spy.

"Tell me about him." She looked up at me. I gave her the most sincere look that I could.

"He always put everyone before himself. He loved helping people, even if it was just giving a homeless man five dollars. He was the nicest man I had ever known. He loved my mother and me with everything he had. He truly was the center of this family. I can't believe he's gone." At this point, she was in tears.

"Come here." I scooted closer to her on the bed and pulled her into me. She cried quietly into my shoulder for a while, but we stayed like that for what felt like forever. It felt comfortable, but also a bit frightening that we were this close after only one day. Finally, Emily pulled away, whipping her eyes.

"So, tell me about your family." Oh no.

"Well, I, uh…" I was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Hey, mom." Emily greeted.

"Hi honey. And who is this?" Mrs. Fields asked.

"Mom, this is Spencer Hastings. She just moved in down the street."

"Oh, hello sweetie. Did your mom like the gift basket?"

"Yes, ma'am. She wanted to thank you in person, but she's been busy with the unpacking."

"Of course, I understand. Anyways, I'm about to get started with dinner. Would you like to stay?"

I looked over at Emily, who smiled and nodded.

"Sure, I'd love to."

Mrs. Fields smiled. "Great. I'll call when it's ready. Nice to meet you Spencer."

"Nice to meet you, too." I smiled back.

The rest of the evening went great. It was so easy to talk to Mrs. Fields, and I could tell that it made Emily happy to see her mom and me getting along. And I was thankful that the questions about my family didn't come back up through the meal. I still didn't know exactly what to say. I would have to ask Veronica about that in the morning. After dinner, Emily offered to walk me home, but I declined. I didn't need her out at night by herself. She hugged me before I left, telling me that I had to text her when I got home. I kindly reminded her that she could watch me walk home from her front porch. She laughed but still made me promise.

That night, after I got home (and texted Emily), I found that I couldn't go to sleep. I just kept replaying the night through my head. Seeing Emily crying, and holding her like that, made me feel all these confusing feeling that I knew were unprofessional, but I just couldn't shake them. Maybe I should talk to Mona about it. She'll probably yell at me.

Finally, at some ungodly hour, I drifted into slumber, but I could still see Emily crying in my dreams. I couldn't let that happen again. I just couldn't.


	4. After Dark

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars or the characters. **

_Snap_

"Shhh." Mona turned around to me, placing a finger upon my lips in a silencing manner.

"Well it wasn't like I stepped on the twig on purpose. Let's just get this over with."

Mona and I were both currently climbing over the fence behind Emily's house. We had been tasked to install some small security cameras around the area to help keep an eye on everything at night or when we were all at school or work.

"There." Mona pointed to a tree in the back yard.

"Okay, cool. One question: how do we get up there?" All of the branches were too high for either of us to reach without a ladder.

Mona turned to look at me. "How good are you at climbing?"

I scoffed. "No, I am not climbing the tree."

She shrugged. "Fine, then boost me up," She said with a very serious face.

I sighed. "Fine"

I locked my fingers together, and she placed her foot in my hands.

"Okay. One. Two. Three." I threw her up into the tree. She installed two cameras facing in opposite directions to give us a complete view of the backyard.

"Are you done yet? I would like to go to bed at some point." I complained.

"Spencer. We have a problem."

"What? What's wrong?" I asked, backing away from the tree to get a better view of Mona. She had her arms wrapped tightly around the tree trunk.

"Did I ever tell you that I am deathly afraid of heights?"

"You're kidding me. I've seen you take down grown men twice your size and you're telling me you are afraid of falling out of that tree?"

"Yes."

I shake my head, sighing again.

"Here. Jump. I'll catch you."

She looked skeptical at first. "Promise?"

I chuckled to myself, extending my arms.

"Scouts honor or whatever. Just jump."

She must have not thought twice about it, because suddenly her entire body weight is crashing against me, and we both go tumbling down with a thud.

"Ow, I thought you said you would catch me." She said rubbing her forehead.

"Well, I would have if you had given me a head up that you were-"

Just then, the light on Emily's back porch turned on, and without words Mona and I got up and hurdled over the fence just before Mrs. Fields opened the door to look around. Once she re-entered the house, Mona and I both let out a sigh of relief, and made our way back home as we continued to argue about the tree situation. We could install the other cameras another night.

The next morning, as Mona and I headed down the stairs to leave for school, we were stopped by two strangers sitting on the couch. We both stopped in our tracks, and turned to each other.

"Um, hi. Who are you people?" I asked.

Veronica came down the stairs behind us.

"Oh don't be silly dear. You know your sister and your brother-in-law, Melissa and Wren." I gave her a look that must have shown my confusion.

"They are here staying with us while their apartment in Philly is being renovated. They'll be staying out in the barn." Veronica said, stopping in front of us. "But that is just the cover story. To be safe it is better if you don't know their real names, so you will address them as Melissa and Wren Kingston. Melissa is a designer and Wren is a doctor. They will be staying in the barn to keep surveillance on the house when we're not around. And for back up if things get fishy."

Mona and I just nodded, saying that we had to go, but that we would meet properly at dinner. With that, we rushed to school.

The day went by fast, and it left me thinking about when I was in high school. About how I wished time would speed up somehow. High school for me was a nightmare. I was bullied for being "too smart" or "the teacher's pet" which were probably true, but still. Those kids didn't have to be so mean about it.

I was standing by my locker when Emily approached me, seeming excited about something.

"Spencer! Guess what?!" She was grinning from ear to ear.

"You won the lottery." She giggled.

"Not quite. I got a job! You're looking at The Brew's newest barista. I start this afternoon."

"That's great Em!" This was great. Now she had a definite place to be after practices, and it would be easier for us to watch her there. The only problem was: how many times can Mona and I go sit in the coffee shop and constantly stare at Emily before it becomes weird?

"You should get the girls and come by today. I'll give you all a cup on the house." She said, still grinning.

"Can you do that? It is still your first day." She shrugged.

"I'm doing it anyways. I'll see you there?" She asked sheepishly.

I nodded. "Of course. Who would pass up a free cup of coffee?" She laughed.

"I'm glad that's the only reason you're coming. Anyways, if you see the girls, tell them. I gotta get to practice." She threw a wave behind her as she ran off towards the gym.

I pulled out my phone and sent Mona a text asking her to watch Emily's practice today. I had to go home and tell the others about her new job.

By the time I arrived home, Veronica and the others were already in the kitchen.

"Guys, I have good news and bad news." They all abruptly turned to me.

"Good news is: Emily got a job at The Brew, so now we can monitor her there after her swim practices."

Everyone nodded in approval. "So what's the bad news?" Melissa asked. 

"I'm just worried about Emily becoming suspicious of us if we're there every day. Even I can only drink so much coffee."

Suddenly, Veronica pulled out her phone and left the room. A few minuted later she re-entered the room and nodded.

"I've taken care of it. I called in a favor from an old friend, and we're going to have someone move into the apartment above the shop. That was it will seem less suspicious if that person is there all the time."

"Who did you call?" I asked. Veronica smiled at me.

"You'll see."

A/N: So, who do you guys think it's gonna be? As if I even have to say it.

Also sorry this took so long. Personal stuff happened. And I'm sorry this chapter ended so abruptly, I just couldn't think of a proper segue into the next part.


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